ORIGINAL NAVAJO CODE TALKER HAS DIED. 93-YEAR-OLD CHESTER NEZ PASSED AWAY THIS MORNING IN HIS ALBUQUERQUE HOME. HE WENT INTO KIDNEY FAILURE. KOAT'S ROYALE DA WAS THE ONLY T-V JOURNALIST TO TALK WITH NEZ'S FAMILY TODAY. SHE REPORTS ON THIS WAR HERO'S LIFE, AND HOW HIS DEATH HAS SADDENED SO MANY. 93-YEAR-OLD CHESTER NEZ HAD ONE OF THOSE SMILES. Judy Avila/FRIEND AND AUTHOR OF CHEZ MEMOIR: "Many people who have met him and when you meet him, you're charmed by him." AND ONE OF THOSE STORIES... ONLY 29 MEN COULD TELL. Avila: "There were a lot of people and ney sayers, who said "How can these young Navajo men help us?" But it turned out to be the only, unbroken, spoken code in modern warfare." IT WAS A CODE - IN NAVAJO - USED IN WORLD WAR TWO. THE JAPANESE COULDN'T CRACK IT AND IT'S CREDITED FOR HELPING US EVNETUALLY WIN THE WAR. NEZ WAS THE LAST, LIVING OF THE ORIGINAL GROUP. Michael Nez/SON: "Any time anybody asks me about his name, or who he was... I'll be very proud." NEZ'S MEMOIR WAS WRITTEN BY JUDY AVILA. SO MANY PEOPLE SHOWED UP TO A BOOK SIGINING IN ALBUQUERQUE in 2011 ... THE STORE SOLD OUT! Avila: "This is a loss " OTHER ACCOLADES FOLLOWED; PARADES, CEREMONIES AND THE ORIGINAL 29 WERE GIVEN THE CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL IN 2001. Michael Nez: "President Bush stuck out his hand to shake it, as he did to the other Code Talkers, but my dad stood at his attention and thew a salute. And I am so proud and I asked him "How come you didn't shake his hand ike the others did?" And he said "You don't do that for the commander in chief. You don't do that. You salute them and that's what he did." A LOT OF PEOPLE KNEW CHESTER NEZ AS A WAR HERO... AND THOSE WHO KNEW HIM BEST... SAY HE WAS ALSO A REALLY GOOD PERSON. AVILA TOLD US SHE SUGGESTED NEZ TREAT HIMSELF, BECAUSE THE BOOK WAS DOING WELL. I said to him, "papa, maybe you can buy a new truck?" and he looked at me and got that sweet smile he always used to get and he said, "ya know? I'm just happy that all these people reading this book will know what my Navajo people did for this country." WEDNESDAY MORNING... CHESTER NEZ'S BODY... FINALLY GAVE OUT. HIS TRAVELS OVER, BUT HIS SERVICE - AND THAT GRIN - NOW KNOWN BY SO MANY. WE'VE GOTTEN SO MANY EMAILS AND MESSAGES ABOUT CHESTER'S DEATH.... INCLUDING ONE FROM A MARINE IN CALIFORNIA. HE WROTE... " I am currently a Marine. These precious Code Talkers are the reason I'm here. I'm on leave through Monday and want to know when and where the funeral will be." FUNERAL ARRAIGNMENTS ARE PENDING. THE FAMILY SAYS IT WILL LIKELY BE A PUBLIC SERVICE IN ALBUQUERQUE. WE WILL KEEP YOU POSTED. BACK TO YOU. AFTER THE SUCCESS OF THE ORIGINAL 29 NAVAJO CODE TALKERS... MORE WERE RECRUITED. AVILA BELIEVES ABOUT 400 NAVAJOS WERE ENLISTED.... OF THOSE SHE ESTIMATES, ONLY 30 ARE STILL ALIVE. FLAGS ON THE NAVAJO NATION WILL FLY AT HALF-STAFF TOMORROW. OUR COVERAGE OF CHESTER NEZ'S LIFE AND

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An Iranian military observation aircraft flew within 50 yards of an armed U.S. Navy helicopter over the Persian Gulf this month, sparking concern that top Iranian commanders might not be in full control of local forces, CNN has learned.